Allen calls McFadden and Seymour questionable for Saints game

Running back Darren McFadden still is in a walking boot 10 days after he suffered a high-ankle sprain. Defensive tackle Richard Seymour still isn’t healthy enough to practice because of lingering knee and hamstring injuries.
Therefore, coach Dennis Allen says, they are questionable for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. If they aren’t able to practice Thursday and/or Friday, there’s little chance of them playing after missing the past four practices and last Sunday’s game.
“All those guys are getting better,” Allen said, “it’s just a matter of whether they’re going to be better in time for Sunday or not.”

— The Raiders faced the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week last Sunday in the Ravens Jacoby Jones. Next up is a game against the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week, Saints tight end Jimmy Graham.
Graham is a matchup nightmate, given he is 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds. Too fast for most linebackers to cover, too physical for most defensive backs to handle.
Ah, but he hasn’t seen Raiders safety Mike Mitchell yet. Mitchell said he has the combination of speed and size to match up well with Graham.
“I haven’t seen anyone get very physical with him yet, as far as DBs,” Mitchell said. “Most guys are too small, and they try to stay away from him. So, he just bodies them. I’m curious to see how he’s going to handle more of a physical, skill-position guy checking him at the line.
“Usually, he’s too fast for linebackers and too big for DBs, but I’ve been able to have success on those guys because I’m a skilled position guy. I like to get my hands on you a little bit and slow you down. So, we’ll see. It’s going to be a tough matchup.”
Graham caught 99 passes for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, and that was just in the regular season. Through nine games this season, he has caught 45 passes for 533 yards and seven touchdowns.
“He’s very good,” Mitchell said. “He’s one of Drew Brees’ favorite targets. If he can be eliminated, that takes a lot out of their offense.”
That’s one big “if” and one big assignment.

— Pro Football Focus takes the time to break down games in great detail each week. One thing that jumped out from the Raiders-Ravens game is the stark contrast of the Ravens passing.
According to PFF, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco completed 17 of 20 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns over the middle of the field Sunday. He completed only 4 of 11 for 47 yards on throws to the outside of the field, with one touchdown and one interception.
Cornerback Ron Bartell said there’s a simple explanation.
“Just miscommunication,” Bartell said. “Guys trying to do too much. Instead of doing their job, guys are trying to make up for other things in other areas. Each individual just needs to focus on what their responsibility is. If we do that we’ll be fine. We’ve played good defense this year. We play our best defense when everybody’s being fundamentally sound and not worried about somebody else’s job.”
Fellow starting cornerback Michael Huff agreed with that assessment.
“We knew they had a lot of great tight ends and a lot of good slot receivers,” Huff said. “A lot of it came out of communication, too, the back end and the linebackers, we just didn’t catch some things. It had a little combination to do with all of it.”

— Interesting stat: Saints coach Joe Vitt pointed out to his players that of the past six teams to allow 50 points or more and play at home the next week, five of them rebounded with a victory.
“Joe’s got a stat for everything,” Allen said. “Hopefully, he’s right.”
So, that gives the Raiders an 83.33 percent chance of beating the Saints on Sunday, based on recent history.
Brees isn’t taking the Raiders lightly.
“I know the team that we’re going to face is not the team that gave up 55 points last week or 42 points against Tampa,” Brees said. “Really, I feel like their defense played very well against the Bucs, with the exception of three big runs. If you take away just three big plays that resulted in 21 points, I felt like their defense played very, very well.
“So, that’s this game, though. It’s a play here, it’s a play there, it’s a big play here, a big play there that can typically affect the outcome of a game. This defense has a lot of very talented players on it. They have played very, very well at times. I know that, for us, we’re going to have to play our best game and worry about our execution, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

— Tight end Brandon Myers passed all the league-mandated tests for players that suffer a concussion, which means he is cleared to practice at full-speed and play in a game.
Free safety Matt Giordano also suffered a concussion against the Ravens last Sunday, but he still hasn’t passed the tests. Hence, Myers was at practice today, Giordano sat out.
Allen said there’s a plan in place if Giordano isn’t able to play Sunday. That might mean moving Huff back to free safety or, perhaps, giving Mike Mitchell a rare start.

— Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey tweaked his right hamstring in practice today. He was limited as a result.

— Phillip Adams has muffed two punts this season. To that end, Allen said he had a little chat with Adams after his latest gaffe, against the Ravens.
“We’ve addressed the situation with Phillip, and he understands that he’s got to protect the football,” Allen said. “We’ll continue to monitor that as we go along, but he’s got to protect the football better.”
If Allen opts to make a change, wide receiver Denarius Moore is next in line.

— Allen addressed the rationale behind placing cornerback Shawntae Spencer (foot) on season-ending injured-reserve Saturday.
“(His recovery) just wasn’t as fast as neither he nor us as an organization wanted, and we were in a situation from an injury standpoint where we had to get roster spots to get guys on to the active roster,” Allen said. “So, it was not an easy decision, but sometimes you’ve got to make those decisions as you get into the season and you need roster spots.”
The Raiders needed two roster spots to accommodate the return of Bartell from injured reserve and the signing of running back Jeremy Stewart from the practice squad.

— Taiwan Jones touched the ball only two times against the Ravens, even though Stewart received seven carries in the same game 24 hours after emerging from the practice squad.
Allen said Jones still has some things to work through before he can be relied upon with a sizable workload.
“He’s got to prove to us that he can stay healthy, that he’s got to know what to do on every single play and he’s got to protect the football,” Allen said. “We’re giving him those opportunities in practice, and as he shows us he’s going to be able to do that, he’ll see more time.”
Allen said Jones is making progress in that regard.
“Actually, there was improvement last week,” Allen said, “so hopefully there’s continued improvement this week.”
Allen said Jones has not voiced any displeasure to him over his lack of playing time at running back.

i’ve never been too much of a weed smoker. dallied with it at times. one of my best friends is though. never understood why u would want to spend most of ur time high and have sobriety be ur alternative time. seems a waste of life.

i used to drink a ton though. and in hindsight, that was definitely a waste of time.

reece may have a good game. his yards per carry wasn’t great, but he looked at times like he was seeing some holes. i’m thinking he might get around 60-70 yards rushing and maybe 50 receiving. maybe a touchdown.

it will be interesting to see a bit more of the stewart kid too.

dr_robert

Albert Bigelow Paine Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Seymour leads the team in sacks with 3. ShoNasty has 2.5
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perhaps we should shelve the shonasty nickname for awhile. just matt will do.

i’ve never been too much of a weed smoker. dallied with it at times. one of my best friends is though. never understood why u would want to spend most of ur time high and have sobriety be ur alternative time. seems a waste of life.

i used to drink a ton though. and in hindsight, that was definitely a waste of time.
==========

Some people learn how to function while high.
I sometimes smoke a joint and then pull out the erase board and teach the youngins’ at home.

Dr_robert Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:37 am
Albert Bigelow Paine Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Seymour leads the team in sacks with 3. ShoNasty has 2.5
**************

perhaps we should shelve the shonasty nickname for awhile. just matt will do.
—–
I think most of us use Shonasty because we don’t know how to spell his last name.

Macho Man Randy Savage

Brees: “This defense has a lot of very talented players on it.” really? who?… man, stars today will give lip service to practice squad players just to evade trash talking….Brees should say: These guys gave up almost 100 points to average offensive teams, we are the best, we should score 60+ points.

MiamiRaider78

dr_robert Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:37 am
Albert Bigelow Paine Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Seymour leads the team in sacks with 3. ShoNasty has 2.5
**************

perhaps we should shelve the shonasty nickname for awhile. just matt will do.
__________________

Seriously, maybe Matt So Not Nasty would be better.

DMAC

Albert Bigelow Paine Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:37 am

I tried smoking the Marijuana joint a few times. I was not impressed.
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I use to feel that same way 2, until I had kids.
Weed def. works as a stress reliever now.

fingers

I think the Offense will score some points…. Just don’t have much faith in the Defense ….

Again, we got screwed in the Wimbley/Contract option year when we made the trade…under the “illegal” contract that he signed with the Browns, which the NFL approved, we should have gotten one more year from Wimbley at $3.5M.

fingers

Agree… Shonasty hasn’t been very nasty …

DMAC

I think that injury fked him up.

hwnrdr

That is true, Dutch! Kinda forgot about that!

Macho Man Randy Savage

Allen on Taiwan Jones: “Actually, there was improvement last week,” wow, as opposed to the other 30 weeks when he regressed.

I tried smoking the Marijuana joint a few times. I was not impressed.
==========

I use to feel that same way 2, until I had kids.
Weed def. works as a stress reliever now.

**************

hmmm. usually goes the other way around. weed smoker stops smoking so much cuz they have kids now. i’m wondering if the kids are getting what u think they’re getting from the whiteboard.
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Yes
and they luv it

I use to drink a lot back in the days.
Now I smoke a lot, and drink on occasions.

hwnrdr

I think our D played like crap because of the D Line’s son passing on. Remember when GB did not look like themselves when Philbins son was found dead?

dr_robert

i will say this: coaches don’t have strings attached to their players. sometimes, the players have to play. when matt was drafted, i didn’t think he was much more than a big solid, straight ahead bullrush type player. then he really surprised me and it looked like he was gonna be more dynamic. but post-injury, he seems to be what i originally thought he was. watch him rush the passer. just bull rush, no moves.

GreatWhiteRaider

One thing that few people bring up as a problem with the Raiders is that they need some consistency in terms of coaching, personnel, schemes. Just list off the coaches and coordinators who have been here in the last 5 years, it’s ridiculous. I think Reggie deserves backing until at least next year (better cap space, a “real” draft to manage). The only issue I have is Dennis Allen hiring Knapp and bringing in a new scheme. Al Saunders is sitting right there and could have run the same system as last year. Why as a never before new HC, with an entire defense that needs revamping, turn around and undo the one part of the team that was reasonably sound? Why would you change a system to one that doesn’t accentuate the abilities of your best and most expensive players (Palmer, McFadden)? While sacrificing high draft picks and lots of money to have them on the roster, you might as well get the most/best out of them.

DMAC

Hey Doc
Where do you live?
I live in Northern Cali, where smoking weed is pretty much a norm.
You would be surprised, to know who’s smoking strong.

Macho Man Randy Savage

Brees and Palmer are going to light up the sky on Sunday. The Saints offense is awesome, their QB and skill players are top pros. Our offense is more will than talent, balls bounce off half the guys, and we could use NO’s 3rd string RB as our starter….

That said:
NO 55
Oak 56

oooooooo yeeeeeeeeah!

dr_robert

Fingers Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:43 am
I keep hearing that Allen can get agitated and pizzy but I haven’t seen it on the sidelines or at his pressers …. He’s kinda like a tall skinny mouse …..

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i think he’s a little agitated and pizzy with taiwan.

RAIDERMAN99

Yeah, the sacks have been few and far between.

Need to step up the pressure and get to the QB. Preferrably without relying too much on the blitz.

But here’s another question and issue…

When’s the last time a Raider delivered what Ronnie Lott used to call a ‘woooo’ hit ?

Seriously, can’t remember one of those, in like, forever.

Raids really don’t have anyone that can lay the lumber.

TB can hit. MM can hit. Curry can hit.

Really haven’t seen one of those devastating hits that lays an opponent out in quite a while.

Biggest hit on a QB this year was probably Wheels hitting Matt Ice in Atl.

Anyone remember a really good pop by the Raider D this year ?

dr_robert

DMAC Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Hey Doc
Where do you live?
I live in Northern Cali, where smoking weed is pretty much a norm.
You would be surprised, to know who’s smoking strong.
**************

i live in sunnyvale. i’m not anti-weed. just think it should be done in moderation. i suffer from anxiety and i’m thinking of trying it for that. i’m not particularly functional on it though. too giggly and like a teenager when i smoke weed.

i’m really hoping we see branch play FS and mitchell at SS, if gio is out. keep huff at CB. i always thought branch would excel being able to not do as much coverage, and just fly to the ball in air, and hit guys coming across the middle.

No Mas Diamante

I f coach thinks stewart is better that Jones then why wasn’t jones on the practice squadand stewart on the roster? does not pass the smell test…

jesusraiderjim

As far as T Jones goes maybe D.A. is getting in his head trying to get the most out of him.

I know we want to see him but maybe DA has plans for Taiwan next year.
You been on teams and seen the one cat the coach picks on trying to get the kid to play to his potential. Just a thought.

I tried smoking the Marijuana joint a few times. I was not impressed.
==========

I use to feel that same way 2, until I had kids.
Weed def. works as a stress reliever now.

**************

hmmm. usually goes the other way around. weed smoker stops smoking so much cuz they have kids now. i’m wondering if the kids are getting what u think they’re getting from the whiteboard.
==========

Yes
and they luv it

I use to drink a lot back in the days.
Now I smoke a lot, and drink on occasions.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

My kid is homeschooled, and she is 5 studying 1st and 2nd grade curriculum, and I smoke before her classes. The day I need to be 100% sober to teach a 5 yo is the day I go back to HS.
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ok, but a teacher would rightfully get fired if they taught while high. i’m not coming down on u, but i’ve been around a ton of weed smokers who made a lot of excuses why it was ok for them to be high all the time. it’s still an escape. and maybe u should be asking urself why u feel compelled to get high all the time. just food for thought.

Macho Man Randy Savage

I dont think it matters if Branch, Huff, MM or Gio play safety, the Dline can’t pressure the QB, and we are facing Brees, the most accurate passer in NFL history, so….we could have Rod Woodson and Ronnie Lott back there and they would be making tons of tackles after the 1st down marker.

i’m really hoping we see branch play FS and mitchell at SS, if gio is out. keep huff at CB. i always thought branch would excel being able to not do as much coverage, and just fly to the ball in air, and hit guys coming across the middle.
=======

Always thought the same, but isn’t more of a responsibility to cover at the FS position, than tackling.
Huffy is better in coverage than TB, but TB is a waaay better tackler than Huffy.

DutchRaider77

694.Albert Bigelow Paine Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:54 am
Jones is on the roster for his special teams play. He’s fast and is always in the area when the returner is tackled.

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Yeah I wonder how things went down…Seemed like Palmer and Knapp talked up Taiwan leading up the Baltimore game and then nothing. Was it all a smokescreen?